Mediagazer: Apple to announce tools, platform to “digitally destroy” textbook publishing (Chris Foresman/Ars Technica)

3:10 PM ET, January 17, 2012

Top News:

Chris Foresman / Ars Technica:

Apple to announce tools, platform to “digitally destroy” textbook publishing — Apple is slated to announce the fruits of its labor on improving the use of technology in education at its special media event on Thursday, January 19. While speculation has so far centered on digital textbooks …

Shara Tibken / Wall Street Journal:

Apple to Give a Lesson About Textbooks — Apple Inc. fans should have something new to cheer this week, but it's not likely to be the latest iPad or a TV. — While the notoriously secretive Apple remains mum about its education announcement Thursday at New York's Guggenheim museum, observers aren't expecting a new gadget.

Discussion: BGR, ZDNet, mocoNews, Electronista, USA Today, Pocket-lint, TUAW, iDownloadBlog.com, 9to5Mac and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »

Valerie Block / Crain's New York:

Huffington Post is developing a new video offering — Al-Jazeera could contribute content to the project. — Arianna Huffington, the president and editor in chief of Huffington Post Media Group, was quite the social butterfly during a recent trip to Doha, Qatar.

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York: Howard Fineman explains the relationship between The Huffington Post and Patch

Lucia Moses / Adweek:

Atlantic Media Elevates Digital Chief — The Atlantic Media Co. has given its top digital executive responsibility for corporate finance, signaling the importance it sees digital media playing in the company's future. — In his new role, announced late Monday, Scott Havens becomes svp …

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Reuters Launches Web TV Channel, Bringing 10 New & Original Shows To YouTube — The move to bring original programming to the web continues to heat up this week, with today's announcement of Reuters TV, a new YouTube channel featuring ten new commentary and analysis shows from the news and media division of Thomson Reuters.

Reuters:

UK politicans and police to blame for hacking-editor — A respected British editor laid the blame for the country's phone-hacking scandal at the door of politicians and police on Tuesday, and said journalists did not need new rules but merely to observe existing ones.

Discussion: Press Gazette, Jon Slattery, @adamboultonsky, Journalism.co.uk and Guardian

Press Association:
Brown impersonated for Sunday Times

Discussion: The Independent

David Allen Green / New Statesman:
The Times admission about computer hacking

Discussion: FleetStreetBlues

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Why Is NBCUniversal Threatening To Report Commenters They Disagree With To Their Employers? — This one is a little bizarre. David Seaman, a contributor to Business Insider, claims that he lost his contributor status at the site following a dispute he had with an NBCUniversal employee …

Discussion: David Seaman

Daniel Frankel / paidContent:

Netflix Hit With Class Action Suit By Angry Investors — Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) has been hit with a class-action suit by a group of disgruntled investors who claim the online movie-rental chain withheld information from them prior to its steep stock-price plunge over the late summer and fall.

Discussion: Guardian, VentureBeat, PC Magazine and ZDNet, more at Techmeme »

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Jenkins on Paterno story: 'I certainly didn't walk away from the interview satisfied' — Sally Jenkins interviewed former Penn State coach Joe Paterno twice and walked away unsure whether he was telling her the truth about Jerry Sandusky. “It was tough, tricky interview …

Discussion: Live Q&A's and DCist

Emma Barnett / Telegraph:

Wikipedia founder defends blackout — Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, has defended the decision to blackout the website around the world tomorrow, despite other American technology companies refusing to follow suit. — The digital encyclopaedia will voluntarily shut …

Discussion: CNET, Ars Technica, Gov 2.0 and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »

Paul Carr / PandoDaily:
Costolo is Right: Wikipedia's SOPA Blackout is a Terrible Idea

Discussion: CNET, Reuters, Softpedia News, TeleRead, TechCrunch, Computerworld and MacStories, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:
Twitter's Dick Costolo calls Wikipedia's SOPA blackout ‘foolish’ [Updated]

Discussion: TechCrunch, Guardian, PC Magazine, Mashable!, SocialTimes.com, Editors Weblog, GeekWire, Future of Journalism and The Next Web, more at Techmeme »

Emma Bazilian / Adweek:

Texas Tribune Ropes in Funds And Readers — When The Texas Tribune launched in November 2009 as a nonprofit online news organization, it had one mission: to provide comprehensive reporting on politics, public policy and state government—increasingly critical coverage as local papers closed …

Felicia Pride / FishbowlNY:

New York Post Launches New Kindle Fire App — Add the New York Post to the growing list of publications that are releasing apps optimized for the Kindle Fire and in this case, other seven-inch Android tablets too. — “This app adds to our array of critically-acclaimed and successful applications …

Russell Adams / Wall Street Journal:

CBS Sports Opens Site to App Makers — CBS Corp., in a move aimed at boosting its share of the nearly billion-dollar fantasy-sports business, is opening up its CBS Sports website so outside developers can create apps geared toward fantasy enthusiasts. — Fantasy sports, where participants …

Discussion: TechCrunch, AdExchanger.com and eMedia Vitals

Jim Romenesko:

Dr. Drew Pinsky took $115,000 from pharmaceutical firm — Charles Seife tells me he's been doing some work on pharmaceutical-company payments to physicians and recently came across an interesting name — Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of VH1′s “Celebrity Rehab” and the nightly HLN show, “Dr. Drew.”

David Carr / New York Times:

Hollywood Techniques at Play in Politics — Hollywood came early to the 2012 presidential race in the unlikely form of “When Mitt Romney Came to Town,” the 28-minute documentary-style attack film that opens with the word “capitalism” and comes to an end with chants of “Wall Street greed.”

Discussion: The Caucus and The Wrap

Nick Denys / The Kernel:

Why The Huffington Post UK Failed — The Huffington Post's UK operation has not been a rousing success. Nick Denys investigates why, concluding that a lack of editorial leadership and mediocre hires may be to blame. — On the day that AOL purchased the Huffington Post, for a reported $315 million …